Jaded

by Danielle James

  Michael was there with her. As soon as she realized it, all the events of the past week came rushing to the forefront of her mind. What had she done to him? She remembered him saying that he had loved her all his life, and didn’t that spread a warm and fuzzy feeling through her chest. His arms tightened around her and Jade took a moment to bask in the warmth of his embrace. And then she remembered how guilty she was feeling. It stabbed her in the gut and brought tears to her eyes.

  “Shh,” Michael whispered into her hair, “It’s all right.”

  “No, it’s not,” she replied. She pushed her head back so that she could look into his eyes. Those wonderful, beautiful eyes. “I had no right to judge you. I should have listened to you.”

  She was gifted with a crooked grin. “You’re forgiven,” he said on that smile. His voice was sincere and Jade knew he meant it.

  “How can you just forgive me so easily?” she asked.

  He shrugged slightly. “I would have thought the same thing,” he offered, but Jade knew that was a lie.

  “Don’t lie to me,” she told him.

  “Ha, I never could lie to you,” he said. “Besides, it’s in the past now. I forgive you and now you are stuck with me. I just wish you had told me that I was your mate from the start.”

  Jade shook her head. “How could I? I would never know if you were with me out of love or obligation. You know how vampire mating works. I would never be able to live with myself if you gave up your bachelor life to be a blood bank for me. I wanted you to want me for me.”

  Michael grinned again, this time wider. “Well, Sweetie, it’s done now and we are together. I realized something while I was in exile. I have always loved you. Even when we were little, you were special to me. I will always love you and I look forward to being your blood bank.”

  Jade chuckled. “You know that I won’t be able to resist marking you. I will wear your mark. You know how this works.”

  Something about the way he smiled at her made her wonder what he was hiding. She could have picked the thought out of his head, but it seemed very wrong. “And I will wear yours. From now until the end of time.”

  The way he said that… “Michael?” she asked.

  He lifted up on his elbow and tilted his head back. And there it was. Her mark. His neck was colored with brilliant violet lines that swirled and graced his neck like a lover’s caress. It looked like a tattoo, but she knew it wasn’t. It was the exact color of her eyes. “How?” she asked.

  Again he shrugged, but he didn’t seem unhappy about it.

  “I thought we had to be having sex for the mating to mark us,” Jade said more to herself than to Michael. “You have to be willing to give all of yourself to your mate.”

  “And I was, and still am,” Michael told her, bringing her back into the circle of his arms. “I knew it was happening. The instant I decided that I would be with you forever, the skin on my neck started tingling. I could feel it forming. It was pretty fucking awesome.”

  “Thank you,” Jade said quietly.

  “But there is one problem,” he said.

  “What’s that?” she asked, afraid to know what he was going to say.

  “You aren’t wearing my mark.”

  Jade thought of him drinking from her and her insides coiled tight. In the blink of an eye, her heart was racing and her panties were wet. “We can fix that right away,” she offered with half lidded eyes.

  Michael smiled as his cock jerked to life. He had gone from soft to hard as stone with one look of her eyes. How many times had he fantasized about her looking at him that way? How many times had he jerked off to just the thought of her lips on him?

  He needed no further invitation. He rolled them both so that she was on her back and he was on top of her. His mouth found hers with surgical accuracy. Their tongues dueled for dominance as he explored every nook and cranny of her hot mouth.

  Her nails raked down his back and when she found the hem of his shirt, she slipped her hands under it. Her fingers encountered miles of smooth, hard muscle. His skin trembled under her touch and she loved it. She loved that she had power over him like this. She found the place between his shoulder blades where his wings connected to his back and she trailed her fingers along the path they made. He released her mouth to groan loudly and then cut himself short.

  Jade knew what he was worried about. With all the super hearing in the house, he didn’t want anyone else privy to their situation. She didn’t blame him. “I got this,” she said as she used her mind to create a sphere of privacy around them again, like she did for their dream. “No one will hear us,” she said as she leaned up and licked at his neck.

  “Oh God,” he moaned as her tongue did delicious things to his skin. She nipped at his throat lightly and Michael thought he might just come in his pants. He needed to get some control over himself so he pushed up off her body, intending to regroup.

  She flipped their position, pushed him down on the bed, and straddled his chest. “You aren’t going anywhere,” she told him in barely more than a whisper. “I have plans for you tonight.”

  She yanked her belt off her pants and slid it through the rails of the headboard. “Hands,” she demanded. Michael gifted her with a devious smile and raised his hands over his head. “Hold the rails,” she told him, and he did as she said. She looped the belt through the rails and around his wrists, then secured it tightly. Then she bolted off his chest and he thought maybe for a minute she intended to leave him there.

  Jade returned with a silk scarf. She climbed back onto his chest and wrapped the scarf around his head, effectively covering his eyes and leaving him blind. “You aren’t going to see what I do,” she said. He couldn’t see her, but he could hear the smile in her voice. He opened his mouth to say something snarky in return, but was silenced by the sound of his shirt ripping down the middle. “That’s better,” she said. Michael’s body burned from the inside out. His cock was at full attention and straining against the fly of his jeans, desperately seeking the woman who sat on top of him, just out of its reach.

  Then, she was gone again. Her slight weight lifted off his chest and he suddenly felt cold and lonely without her. “You said I was cold,” she said. “I can show you cold.” He felt the bed dip as she sat on the edge. “This is cold,” she whispered as she touched his lower belly lightly.

  “Shit!” he growled. It was cold. She was trailing a piece of ice over his sensitive stomach. He could feel the ice melting and the little water trails racing down his sides.

  “Oh no, I got you all wet,” she teased. Michael smiled at the double entendre. “Let me help.” And then in the wake of the ice cube, her tongue blazed a trail over his stomach. He felt every one of his muscles tighten and his hips jerked off the bed of their own accord. The little minx laughed, but continued her delicious torture.

  She continued up his chest and swirled the ice around his nipple, and then her tongue followed. The dual sensations of cold ice followed by the hot lick of her tongue was nearly his undoing. He felt the sharp tip of her fangs as she lapped the water off his frozen nipple and then sucked it with her whole mouth. She repeated the process with his other nipple. Who knew he had sensitive nipples? If the fire in his pants was any indication, then yep, they were very sensitive.

  Jade brought the ice up the column of his neck and licked the trail of water back off again. Then she sat up. He felt the ice on his lips and he opened his mouth to allow her to run it over his lips. He darted his tongue out to lick the cube and she lowered it into his mouth. He took it from her, sucking her fingers into his mouth. He was rewarded with a stifled groan of pleasure from her. He chomped on the ice once and it crushed in his mouth. Jade watched as the powerful muscles in his neck moved when he swallowed. Then she brought her mouth to his and kissed him.

  Michael could have stayed under her forever, but he needed to be inside her. He needed to taste her skin. He pulled his hands free of the belt binding them and placed them securely on her ass. She
giggled against his lips. “I was wondering how long you could stand it,” she said before ripping the blindfold off his eyes.

  He had never seen anything so gorgeous as his mate. Her hair was mussed up and her eyes were glowing under heavy lids. Her long lashes cast shadows on her cheekbones and her lips were swollen from kissing him.

  He had to have her and it had to be now. He pulled her hips down and arched his hips up into her, relishing the feel of her body against his erection. Then he rolled over, taking her with him. He dispensed with the pleasantries and yanked her shirt over her head, exposing those lovely breasts he had been staring at through the material. He dropped his weight, pinning her to the bed. Then his mouth found a nipple.

  Jade was overwhelmed by the feel of her mate’s mouth on her skin. He toyed with her nipple with the tip of his tongue until it was hard as stone and straining for the cavern of his mouth. He didn’t disappoint. He licked her entire nipple with the flat of his tongue and then sucked it into his mouth. Her hands tangled in his hair, holding him to her body. Yes, this was what she needed. He sucked hard and then released her. He moved to the other side to pay homage to the neglected nipple. “Yes,” she cried out. Her legs had tangled themselves with his and she was forcing her hips up, seeking him with her core.

  When he finally released her breast, he moved down to kiss a path around her belly button. While his mouth worked her skin his hands worked at her pants. He had her button undone and was shoving the material down her legs. He moved off of her only long enough to yank her pants down her legs. Jade helped by kicking them off. Then Michael settled his shoulders between her thighs.

  He took in the sight of his mate, splayed out for his eyes to feast on. God, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Her skin was glistening for him. He couldn’t wait a second longer and delved his tongue into her wet folds. Her flavor exploded on his tongue and he lapped at her for all he was worth.

  Jade brought her knees up and fisted his hair in her hands. Every swipe of his tongue was electric. She could feel the sensations emanate from her core and filling her entire body. He pushed first one, then two fingers into her body and she arched up to meet him. She wrapped her legs around his broad shoulders, locking him to her. As he drove his fingers into her faster, he sucked on her clitoris, pushing her higher.

  Jade felt the tension in her body growing. Every time she thought he was going to let her come, he backed off. She would reach just the edge, and then he would bring her down again. He was enjoying it.

  “Tell me what you need,” he murmured against her.

  “I need you to let me come!” she cried out. Damn him, stop fucking around and do it.

  “Tell me to do it,” he said.

  “Damn it Michael stop dicking around!” she yelled at him. “Make me come now!”

  Michael pushed a third finger into her and sucked at her clit hard. Her walls clamped down around his fingers, holding him inside her as she came undone for him. He stayed with her, riding out the tremors that shook her entire body until she calmed.

  Jade watched as her mate rose up from between her thighs like a god from the sea. He was her everything, and she knew it. He wiped his mouth off with his hand and smiled like the cat that ate the canary. He crawled up her body and kissed her mouth hard. Jade thought that her body was down for the count, but as he ate at her mouth like a starving man, she found that she wanted him more than ever.

  “I can’t wait anymore,” he growled as he positioned himself at her entrance. He started to push inside her and then stopped. “I know it doesn’t matter, but I don’t want to hurt you,” he said softly.

  Jade knew what he was asking and said, “You won’t hurt me.”

  Michael jacked his hips forward, surging into her in one powerful thrust. Jade was filled with white hot pain for a moment and her entire body stiffened. Her mate was not a small man by any definition. Her nails dug into the hard muscles of his back and he stiffened along with her. “Jade?” he asked.

  “It’s ok,” she told him, already relaxing. “Move. Now. Please.”

  He did. He pulled almost completely out of her body before pushing back into her slick, wet heat. “Oh, fuck me,” he growled.

  As he moved above her, Jade watched as his wings arched up above them. They spread out slightly and moved with him with each thrust of his hips. They were magnificent. The colors shimmered and Jade couldn’t be sure if it was really him or what she was seeing through a sheen of tears in her eyes. She wasn’t sad by any means. In fact, she had never been happier. She had never felt so whole, so complete as she did with her mate buried deep inside her. She brought her legs up and wrapped them around his powerful hips. He moved faster above her and Jade couldn’t wait any longer.

  “Make me yours,” she said in his ear. He slowed his pace and arched his back so that he could look her in her eyes. “Do it.”

  Michael nodded as Jade brought a perfectly manicured fingernail to her throat. She turned her head and made a cut with her nail, just above her collar bone. Bright red blood welled from the shallow wound and Michael stared at it for a moment. The thought of drinking blood should have bothered him, but it didn’t. In fact, he couldn’t wait to taste her.

  He growled deep in his chest and dropped his weight, sealing his mouth over the wound. Her blood tasted like ambrosia on his tongue and he sucked hard. Every cell in his body came alive and felt like it was buzzing with electricity, but the feeling was especially strong where their bodies joined.

  Jade arched her back with the force of the orgasm that hit her almost immediately as Michael drank from her. His arms snaked underneath her and he held her tightly to his body as he made love to her. She opened her eyes and saw something amazing. His wings had caught fire. They were burning a low flame just above her, but she felt no heat from it. All she felt was the fire inside her that he inspired.

  Michael sucked at her neck harder and without letting her go, he roared as his climax overtook him. Jade felt him jerking inside her as he filled her with his seed. She welcomed him into her body, and gave him everything she had in return. One hell of an orgasm took hold of her body and she screamed out the pleasure. This was how it was supposed to be. He belonged to her and now, she would belong to him–forever.

  CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

  Stephan dispatched yet another demon with a wave of his hand. “Anyone else got any thoughts on the matter?” he sneered.

  Not one demon that remained had anything to say.

  “Good. Now be good little minions and get back to work. Hell doesn’t run itself.” Stephan turned his back on his demons and walked to his father’s throne. His throne, he corrected himself. He had an amazing amount of power coursing through his veins. Hell, he could feel it. It pulsed inside his body like a second heartbeat.

  He watched with satisfaction as his demons disbanded and scurried on to their posts. Some of them were lowly minions. Their only job was to watch and devour; anyone who entered Hell without permission or anyone trying to escape Hell were fair game to them. And then there were his guardians. Each guardian oversaw a different realm. There were different areas in Hell for rapist than for murderers. The eternal punishment fit the crime. The guardians were just that–guards. Their job was to keep the damned souls in their realm. The final tier was the keepers. The keepers were in charge of their realm. They decided and doled out punishments. Murderers were killed. Over and over again. Thieves were stolen from. They were given food and clothing, only to have it taken away again. And rapists, Stephan snickered; their punishment was fitting as well.

  He watched with a grin as everyone finally went back to work and stopped trying to convince him not to seek out his revenge. He had finally convinced his following that he was a stronger king than his father had been, and twice as nasty. He would allow no one to defy him. No one could stand up to him. No one dared.

  The angel proved to be an obstacle that needed to be dealt with, but only for a short time. He had the Spear of Des
tiny, after all. He was invincible. He could take out the angel, but he needed the rest of the angel’s family distracted first. He smiled to himself as he thought of the perfect distraction.

  His new friend, Anubis, was going to come in handy. He had so many wonderful toys, and he was willing to let Stephan play with them. But for this favor, he knew he was going to have to offer Anubis something significant in return. Perhaps the blood of a virgin would do, or maybe even the head of an innocent.

  Yes, Stephan thought, this was an excellent plan, indeed.

  CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  Jade entered her father’s office with Michael following right behind her. Following was a bad description. She had her hand wound tightly around his and was dragging him along for the ride. It wasn’t that Michael was afraid of Angel; he wasn’t afraid of anything. Intimidated, yes. Afraid, no. He was not afraid of the only other man on the planet who would willingly walk through fire for Jade. He was not afraid of the man who would protect Jade under any circumstances. He respected the hell out of him. He was not afraid that Angel would have his head on a pike. Or at least, that is what he told himself as his feet reluctantly shuffled into the office behind his mate.

  Angel was working at his computer with a stern, irritated look on his face. His brows were drawn tight above piercing eyes that almost seemed like they could burn a whole through the computer screen. Michael was glad he was not whatever the man was looking at. He had been the object of that stare once before and he wasn’t looking forward to being it again, although his mate had other ideas.

  As soon as he felt Jade enter the room, Angel looked up and the fierce look he was wearing faded into one of adoration and love. His eyes softened and twinkled a little as he took in the sight of his daughter, well and back to normal.

  “Hey, Baby,” he said with a smile.

  “Daddy, there is something we need to tell you,” Jade informed him without preamble or pleasantries. “Michael is my mate. We have completed the mating and we belong together. I would appreciate it if you would cut him some slack from now on.”